Understanding how this innovative technology works can change how you may plan your business strategy now and into the future.

Regular meetings are necessary for establishing strong customer relations, but make sure that your time together is time well spent.

There are peak times in every business. It could be seasonal (the holidays are soon upon us) or even certain times of the month or even week.

It's easy to get caught in an endless work loop where your life turns into desk lunches, late nights, and little, if any, me-time. While you may feel that the more you work, the greater your performance, the opposite is actually true.

You may have heard that mindfulness meditation is an undervalued self-development practice. For busy entrepreneurs, it can become a useful way to manage work issues like skyrocketing stress levels, constant burnout, and a foggy mind that can't always be trusted to make the best decisions.

It’s easy to feel like our adulthood consists of one event after another, without a clear sense of direction or progress. When we’re young, it’s easy to see a series of milestones that will keep us moving along the path we call life. We graduate high school, then college, and start working. Once our careers get going, though, it’s easy to feel we’ve plateaued. The signposts marking our lives start to grow more erratic, making us more likely to fall into a rut. But this sense of stagnancy isn’t a matter of course.

There is a lot of similarity between business and creativity.

Building a small business means bringing ideas to life, creating something new, and putting it out there for people to react. It also means having to constantly overcome self-doubt, criticism, and frustration. The process is the same for any type of creativity whether it's art, music, writing, or any other form of self-expression.

Just as with life, business is a constant barrage of decision making. Should you hire that person? Should you launch this project? Should you expand? Cut back?

When it comes to the myriad ways technology has altered our personal and professional lives, we tend to hear only all-or-nothing opinions. Tech is either the miracle of our time, building a better world and improving our lives immeasurably, or an ever-spreading disease, infiltrating our daily existences and wreaking havoc on our interpersonal relationships.

Just as with life, business is a constant barrage of decision making. Should you hire that person? Should you launch this project? Should you expand? Cut back?

To make it even more stressful, your decisions often can have serious consequences on your business that can weigh on you. 

Creating your personal brand is an important step in the evolution of your business and career. It can define your goals and services, and help to better connect with your customers and team. What do you want people to think about when they interact with you and your business?

Mastery is a myth. That statement may sound crazy on its face, but bear with me for a second. Do you really think any of us reaches a point in our lives where we’ve learned enough, grown enough, and progressed enough to say we’re content with where we’re at? Self-satisfaction breeds complacency, which is the enemy of improvement.

There is a saying that you can never get enough education. The most successful business people I know are always striving to learn more about how they can improve their business, their knowledge, and their life.

I've found that one of the best ways to further your education is to listen to podcasts.

In order for your business to run the most efficiently, and for your team to strive to be its best, as a leader, you have to set a good example. People notice when you are engaged, focused, organized, and can balance various aspects of your life. Those traits are what motivate others to follow your lead.

As somebody who travels the country speaking about the role of technology in the professional environment, I’ve had the chance to talk with countless business owners and team members about innovation. Far and away the most frequent question I’m asked is how somebody can create a workplace atmosphere where innovation is seen as a benefit, rather than an obstacle. 

You could say that soft skills are the most important since they affect so many aspects of daily business. They include being collaborative with the people around you, thinking creatively, making decisions, managing your time, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. Soft skills also involve personality traits like being personable, having a positive attitude, being an empathetic listener, and being self-disciplined.

When I started my first accounting business, I did it all: arranged client calls, prepared financial reports, returned client messages and e-mails, scheduled meetings, and even took care of my company's own accounting needs.

Have you ever felt alone in an office full of people? I've worked for companies where I felt like an off-site worker even though I was surrounded by hundreds of co-workers.